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"Shadow Man"Written By: Kaeru Shisho Disclaimer: I don't own any part of Gundam Wing
or its characters, nor do I make any monetary profit off this story. Rating: NC 17 Warnings: Yaoi, AU, angst, sap, romance, drama Pairings: 1x3, 2x4, 5xC Summary: Hardly more than a shadow himself, Trowa glimpses the shade cast across the concrete of another young man, who is about to make a fatal mistake. A/N: This story takes place in a universe more
like ours today, where the colonies exist, but not in space, and where
the world is on the cusp of change " Shadow Man"
Chapter 13 Duo and Quatre had joined Heero and me around a campfire. We were dodging the smoke and talking about fighters and guns, as usual, when Wufei jogged up. He had agreed to attend the ringmaster's meetings and keep us informed as to the change in plans for the circus. "You won't believe what was just announced." "What happened?" I asked him. Quatre scooted over to make room for him to sit. "Want to burn a hotdog?" "Burn? Oh, yes. Thank you." It had been Duo's brilliant idea to have the cook out. Problem was, none of us were particularly good at campouts. My hot dog was black on the outside and cold on the inside. So was everyone else's, but we ate them. While Wufei balanced his stick with hotdog over the hot coals, he told us his news. "Apparently, no one was happy about doing a command performance for OZ. Many vowed to run rather than work. The Ringmaster didn't want to lose so many performers, so he met with an OZ representative to cancel." "Bet that didn't go over well," I muttered. "No it did not. Volschad, the OZ man's name was, threatened to close down the circus and take back the land conceded to it." "They can't do that!" Quatre cried out. "The circus has rights!" I'd thought it had, too, but what did I know? Wufei's expression was mostly lost in dark shadows, but his voice was taut with anger. "OZ attacked L5, what was left of it, again. I don't think they even have a governing body left to fight the takeover. That is what OZ thinks of the colonies' rights. The circus certainly hasn't any firmer agreement than them." We expressed outrage at the injustice both to Wufei's homeland and to the circus, treating both equally even thought, of course, they weren't. Just the way passions flow. "Why doesn't the Sanc Kingdom do something to protect the circus?" Quatre wondered aloud. "I think the Sanc government, such as it is, is about to capitulate all power to OZ," Wufei intoned. The outlook all looked bleak. I asked, "So what are we to do?" "We? The ringmaster has been given a new command performance date to accept." "And we won't like it," I guessed. "Next week." "What the fuck?!" "We have to close to the public. Tonight's performance was our last here in Sanc, with the exception of this special one for OZ dignitaries and troops." "Fuck, 'Fei!" So fast? Suddenly, everything was falling apart. The world around me changing faster than I could keep up with! "You'll lose all the money from those shows?!" Quatre realized. "The ringmaster says we'll try to cram a few back into the schedule afterwards, so as not to lose that revenue." "Afterwards?" I was shouting. "We go on the colony tour after that. We need at least a week to get ready-!" My mind was spinning with everything that would have to be done. "And what about us?" Heero and me? Our plans? Wufei cut me off. "-Forget having week. We will only have two days after the command performance to prepare for our colony tour." "That's fucking impossible! We can't get animals ready for a trip of that scope in two days!" Wufei's shrug said it all. There was no choice. No choice. "The performers are enraged, of course, but the show must go on. Where else will they get work for the summer? Avoiding an Oz confrontation and cutting out on the last show of the year was one thing, but now... it's at the start of the season. The show either goes on or the circus folds. And I can tell you the fear of being found out is evenly balanced by the fear of being without jobs or futures." We stewed over that news for a few minutes, until Duo broke the quiet. "So you guys thinking of cutting your losses and signing up for the military then?" It would pretty much mean we would be trading our debt to the circus for the equivalent in service to the military of the Sanc Kingdom. "It might be too late for Sanc," Wufei said. The queasy feeling in the pit of my stomach made me want to puke. I agreed with him. It was too late to begin a four year pilot training program. Quatre's cell buzzed. He checked the number and excused himself to take the call. "What if Lowe's a part of this and shows up? I couldn't risk being seen." Heero looked to me. "I suppose I could hide? What about you, Wufei? What's your risk factor of being recognized?" My friend and brother-in-law looked into the distance and shrugged. "Not good. Winner's returning." "Quat, what'sup?" Duo asked. I knew something was wrong by the frightfully pale face and wide-eyed expression of shock. "Hey! What's wrong? " Duo had an arm around his boyfriend and pulled him into the light. "That was Rashid..." he paused to gulp air past a tightening throat. "He...he... said he discovered a tracking device on two of the cars." He was fighting back tears at this point. "I'd driven one of them here this week!" "Not your fault." Duo looked askance; his hands shaking. "Shit! We oughta check the one we brought today. We came together this time. My truck's brakes aren't good." Wufei was up and on the run shouting over his shoulder, "Where're you parked?" Duo caught up to him. "Here." Heero stared down Quatre. "How could you have not thought to look!" "I-I...!" Afraid Quat might start weeping; I grabbed both of them by the shoulders and pushed. "Help search for a hidden device." Yeah, I was mad at him for letting something that get by him, endangering Heero, but I'd learned from my work with animals at the circus not to let something you'd already done distract you from what you are about to do. I had to stop thinking about OZ coming here, the circus folding, my life in chaos... Wufei rolled under the car's front, Duo the back. When we joined them, they were scrabbling from wheel to wheel. Quatre opened one door and Heero one in back and started a frantic pat down of the interior. I looked over the grill vent. "Got it!" Wufei cried. "Right wheel well." He held up the evil device for us to see. "Heero should get to stomp it to death," Quatre proposed. "No." Wufei scanned the nearby cars. Duo deemed to know what he was looking for and scrambled in between the next row. "This here one's from L3!" Wufei spun about and made for where Duo was standing. We all scuttled like roaches on garbage over to where they were. Wufei dipped down and pawed about the wheel, and then stood up. Duo dusted his hands, grimy from crawling on the ground before. "That's that then." "But why-?" I started to ask. "If we destroyed the tracking device," Wufei explained," Lowe might think we found it and would know we were on to him. This way, he's got a long way to chase after this late model sedan." "The circus travels to L3 next," I reminded him. "If he's looking there?" "Then we won't be found." Wufei turned to Quatre. "Our timetable just got a new end date, I think." "What do you mean?" Heero asked. "We are not waiting for Lowe to find you, for OZ to discover me or Duo. We aren't traveling on to L3. We leave tonight. If Maguanacs are taking recruits, let's hope they can do that quickly," Wufei said. "Our circus days are rapidly coming to an end, cousin." I brushed away moisture forming in my eyes. I never cried. Heero nudged me. "We'll be together." How I loved him then! I regained all my courage from a touch from his hand, stroking my hair. "Yeah. Okay, Wufei. I get it. How do we do this?" "Rashid and his corps are a phone call away," Quatre said, tapping his pocket. "Give him a call. Give him the facts and see what he says." We made our way back to my caravan; Wufei stopped at his to talk with his wife. Duo and Quatre stood shoulder to shoulder speaking to each other too low for me to hear what they were saying. Heero and I looked around the place filled with Heero's stuff and my few things. What to take? What to leave? I was having trouble concentrating on any one activity. Pack? Use the bathroom? One last roll on the bed with Heero? Heero came out of the tiny bathroom. "Next?" "Might as well." I went in after him. It was better than standing around waiting. I finished up and came out, drying my hands. Heero leaned close and kiss my cheek. "All right?" "Great Just great," I muttered moodily. Wufei and Catherine were outside with Duo and Quatre. "We'll look like the vanguard leaving the circus before the OZ performance, if we go at once," Wufei said. "Any word back from your corps?" Quatre waved him to silence. He had his cell glued to his ear, listening to ongoing conversations, waiting for instructions and then, "They are on their way. Maguanacs. They'll land in a field near a lake. We're to meet them there." "I know where that is." Wufei glanced at me. "Yeah," I said. Catherine and I embraced, she whispering good luck and words of hope and good luck. "Oh, sweetie!" "Clothes in a book bag, shoes!" Wufei barked out orders like a field commander. He certainly sounded like he knew the drill. "A knife. Hurry! Duo, show them! I've got to pack one more thing, then I'll be back." Catherine looked torn between us. "Go keep him company," I told her. "He really needs you more, you know." She forced a smile and mouthed," thanks", and ran out to their caravan. Heero wrapped his laptop in a heavy shirt and placed it on top of a second pair of shoes at the bottom of his bag. I dug out my bag, dumped the trash from the last time I'd used it onto the bed and rummaged for clean socks. I'd had it with me that last day at school. I'd saved Heero. A shadow man falling to his death. Nearly. "Power cord," Heero was telling me something. "You won't need any. I got this and I can recharge your cell from my laptop. Bring your gun." He knew I had one. I had several and a rifle from the time I'd put down the dying lioness. I loaded two hand guns, handed one over to Heero, stuffed the other in my bag, and then started loading ammo to the bag. "Underwear and socks," Duo recommended. "You'll thank me later. 'Ro? I got your binocs back at Quat's." "Keep them." "Thanks!" Duo tossed jackets to Heero and me. "Make them fit. Water and food, we got back at the compound." "Oh!" Quatre cried at his phone. "What?! Oh! He's here! Lowe!" The OZ troops were knocking at the gates, too. "Move out!" shouted Duo, and we all tumbled out of my caravan, the door slamming behind us. I gave my sister one more hug and the keys to my caravan. "I'll be back as soon as possible." "Keep him safe for me?" she asked. I knew she meant her new husband. "Yeah. We'll watch out for one another," I promised. Wufei and I ran out in front, leading the others to the only place open enough for a helicopter to land. I remembered picking up rocks and clearing the nearby meadow with Wufei for the circus Big Top. That had been only a couple months ago? I remembered feeling refreshed from being out of the hospital, where I'd sat by Heero day in and out. Back when I had only hope to go on that Heero would recover. And now? Heero caught up to me. He was in great shape. He looked like he could kick ass with the best of us. He grinned, encouraging me to keep pace with him. Suddenly, Wufei was shouting over his shoulder and pointing in the direction of the main gate to the circus community development. I could make out troops piling out of open trucks. "OZ?" Or were those Sanc Kingdom troops? Couldn't tell. "Those men are probably just here to check out the preparations for the show," Wufei told us. It was more than just conjecture, I assumed, he'd learned more about what was planned than he'd had a chance to tell us. Quatre was talking into his cell and squinting up into the sky, while Duo conducted him by the elbow. "I see your running lights!" We continued treading carefully across the field. In the distance, we heard the sound of heavy trucks tires on gravel, boots scraping the ground. "We should hear the helicopters landing nearer the lake," Quatre shouted. "Rashid's here with everyone. He says the roadway's jammed with military vehicles." "OZ or Sanc?" Wufei asked first. "Both! Coming from different directions." "The ringmaster must have called the palace for support-" Wufei was saying. A brilliant flash of light cutting off his words, followed by a concussive force. The explosion blew us off our feet. I rolled, tumbling over rocks and dry grass, bracing the impact with my hands and arms. Rocks and dirt rained down upon me. "Heero!' I shouted, looking for him. I found him a few feet away, climbing to his feet. "Heero!" "Oh, God!" He stood holding his head as if he had to keep it from shattering. He was gasping for breath after that first outcry. "Memories," he said in an exhale. "Oh, God..." "Breathe!" I wound my arms around him, shielding him from the view. I wasn't sure if he was afraid a blow to his head would make him lose memories or if some were returning. There wasn't time to ask. Gun shots. I couldn't tell where the firing was coming from until there was another explosion. This one was further away from us. "That's from the circus!" Wufei shouted. "Some clown's using the show explosives to try and scare off the OZ troops, I think." "He's coming for me!" Heero screamed. "Who-" I began, but I knew he meant Lowe. "Are those coming this way?" Quatre asked. I tore my eyes away from Heero and tracked where everyone else was gawking, riveted to the scene unfolding only a half a mile or so away. An armored vehicle and two jeeps veered away from the fracas. The headlights bobbed up and down as they bumped along the field. "They're after us!" Duo shouted. "Duck and spread out. Don't go in a straight line!" I heard the retort of a rifle. Bullets peppered the ground to the left of us. Quatre, closest to the spot under attack, coughed as clouds of dust rose around him. "Jesus Christ!" Duo shouted. "Haul ass!" Heero stood staring at the oncoming danger, frozen to his spot. "Odin... is coming for me." "That's not going to happen," I promised. Heero was freaking out on me. I had to distract him. "Look over that way into the dark. See the lights?" "Lights?" He turned slightly and I gently pushed him around. "Maguanacs landing over there. And look overhead!" We could hear the percussive noise of rotor blades fru-wap-wap-waping as a helicopter passed over us. "Help's on the way, but we gotta fucking not be targets out here." With his eyes focused on the dim lights, he seemed to come out of his trance state. "Where?" "Stay with me," I told him. "Stay low. The field dips pretty soon and they won't see us for a minute or so." I couldn't see the others up ahead, so they must have reached the low part. Wufei knew the lay of the land and would lead them at an angle taking advantage of the topography. I nearly tripped over Duo in the dark. "Hey! It's me!" he blurted out. Quatre had fallen and was testing a tender ankle while Duo bent over him. "Go on. 'Fei told me which way he was going. We'll catch up." Heero hesitated to leave them. "If we get separated, meet up at the training camp... at Winner's compound," Duo shouted. Duo was supporting Quatre, but they all appeared okay, no bloody parts, just roughed up. "Rashid won't leave Quat behind, you know. Go!" Instead, Heero swept Quatre off his feet and started running with him in his arms. Duo muttered something about "hot-dogging it" and then grabbed Quatre's pack. We took off after Heero. A dark figure lurched out of the shadows from behind a darker, bushier lump I didn't recall being in the field. I immediately thought "Wufei" but then my brain factored in the shape's bulk and ruled it out. Not in time. "Walk forward. Alone!" intoned a deep voice I didn't recognize. I hoped it was that Rashid character Quatre had been telling us about. It was not. "Put him down, Heron, Heero, whatever you're calling yourself these days. Do it now!" Three strikes and I'd be out. "Odin." Heero's voice had an awful sounding haunted sound. "Odin." The hitch in it nearly made me want to cry. "I can stand, Heero. Put me down. Do as he says," Quatre said. Duo had disappeared. He'd dropped and crawled off somewhere already. I couldn't see or hear him. Wufei was also missing in action. I wondered if my brother-in-law was lying in a heap someplace, knocked out by Lowe. "Slowly. I want to see both hands at all times. Slow... that's right." Lowe, how had he gotten here ahead of us? How had he known we'd be escaping this way? Like an automaton, Heero obeyed. I didn't know whether he was in shock or Lowe had him under some kind of mind control. I watched as Heero moved with aching deliberateness, following directions. I knew I was close to losing it myself and tried to focus back onto ways to get us out of this mess. What could I use as a weapon? Why had I stowed everything in my backpack?! That last bit of grief I was giving myself wasn't helping. Thoughts like that hijacked a person's attention when you needed it most. Self-flagellation was the Grim Reaper of energy, too. "Now, step away from your friends. This way. Keep it slow. Hands out at your sides where I can see them!" A rock! Two good sized ones lay at my feet. If only I could get ahold of them I could slam the fucker in the face, brain him. I was an excellent aim, even in the dark; blindfolded I could hit him, if I didn't get a hole blown through me first. Our escape was just a few hundred feet away. It might as well have been ten miles. We were pinned by Lowe. He had a huge gun aimed at Heero's head and an even larger automatic weapon in his other hand and across his arm targeting me and Quatre. A shimmer of movement caught my attention. Several hundred feet in the direction of the lake, the dark vehicle waited, its rotor turning very slowly, almost without noise. If I strained I could make out the thrumming bass of the engine. I saw figures, possibly two or three, silhouetted against the lights coming from the helicopter. Were those more of Lowe's people? OZ? Sanc military? Maguanacs? I hoped that it might even be Wufei and Duo having made it to safety. I thought I saw a weapon, something long and thin, a part of the flickering distant image. "I want you to walk back the way you came. There's a car waiting. When you get there, get in. I'll join you after I take care of your thieving friends." Divide and conquer! I couldn't let him separate us. If I was going to die, it would be defending Heero. I looked again for my rocks and imagined how I was going to move, the time to reach, aim, and throw one then the other. I'd be shot, but if I got the man in the head, Heero might get free. Quatre made a sound. I risked a glance his way. When Heero had set him down, he'd collapsed to the ground. Now, he caught my eyes and nodded once. In his hands were rocks big as the ones I wanted. I had to guess that the moment I made my move, he'd try and cover me. And then he flicked a wrist. A rock hit what sounded like a tin can several feet away in the dark. Lowe's eyes slid to the side to assess the threat, and I grabbed my rocks. In the next instant, I propelled one then the other at the man's head. Several more pelted his shoulders. Those must have come from Quatre. From my squatting position, I lurched at Heero, colliding with his legs and sending him tumbling to the ground. All around us, gunfire flew past. I rolled over Heero and covered him expecting any second to feel the pain of a bullet sear my flesh. None did. I guessed I'd done something right this time. "Okay?" I whispered into his ear. He pushed up. "Yeah." Quatre was on his feet, wobbly, waving into the dark. "Over here!" I heard footfalls heading our way and vehicles grinding over the duty field gaining ground. "Gottcha!" Duo had a hold of one of Heero's arms and had a hand out to me. "I'm fine." We were scrambling as fast as possible in the dark, when Wufei and a big man met up with us. "Rashid! Help Heero!" Quatre cried out. "Are you hit? Hurt?" Wufei asked rapidly closing the distance and offering to carry a backpack. "I'm fine," I repeated. "Got it." Heero mumbled something like, "Hn." I think he was tired of being considered an invalid. He shook off Wufei and joined Rashid, hunched over Lowe. "Dead." "Who's shot?" I asked. Both he and Wufei had been carrying firearms. "The one to his temple, mine. The chest wound, Mr. Chang's." "Leave him," Heero said. "I just wanted to look at his face." "Recognize him?" I asked. "Yes. I remember everything." Everything? My hopes sank like the titanic, big hopes, even bigger cold death. Lights flashed a semaphore in lightening script. It had come from direction of the makeshift helipad. "Your transport awaits," Rashid told us. There in the dusty, scary night, with the enemy barreling toward us, Heero kissed me. "Love you," he whispered. "You gave me this chance to have a life." "Hey, guys?" Duo shouted. He and Wufei must already have helped Quatre to the waiting helicopter, because I didn't see them. "We're not safe yet." "Just a short distance more, gentlemen," Rashid said. "My men will get you seated." He blasted a couple shots in the air. He had us covered. We slung our packs over our backs and jogged the rest of the way, leaving behind us the siren-infested putting down of protests in the direction of the circus. A noise joined the noise of the night. The helicopter's engine, speeding up. Dust flew from the rotors, the noise, deafening. Men I didn't know took the packs and urged us into the first helicopter. Wufei stood outside. He met me with an embrace. "This is where we part, my friend, my brother." "You're not joining us?" His eyes reflected lights in the distance. "I will. I don't need the same training as you, and I have a circus to protect." I understood. He'd helped Heero and me get to this point, probably as a promise to my sister. "Thanks. But you can't go back alone!" "Rashid's lent me five men. They are waiting. See?" In the darkness completely opposite the main entrance where all the excitement had been, lights flashed. It hadn't been my imagination; there was a transport over at the circus-only gate signaling us, Rashid. "I called in passes so the Maguanacs could enter the grounds legally and provide support to the Sanc troops." I did feel better knowing the circus had protection. "You are doing the honorable thing." It was the right thing to say. His face lit with joy. Rashid jogged over. "The Sanc militia stopped the convoy. We still should takeoff while we have clearance." He and Wufei exchanged silent communication. "I must go," Wufei said. "Take care." He shook Heero's hand and smiled. "When we meet again we can talk. I was considering forming a new peace-keeping organization. Call it Preventers. You might be interested?" "Already am," I told him. We watched him disappear into the darkness then climbed aboard the waiting craft. Quatre, and Duo made room for us. We located seatbelts and secured ourselves. "Have you ever flown before?" Quatre shouted. "No." Heero shook his head. "Then this will be the fun part." I felt a hand smooth over my leg and locate my hand. I squeezed and smiled a little. I'd kept my promise. Lowe hadn't gotten his hands on Heero, not that I had taken the man out. That the dead-eye shot had come from Rashid and Wufei's guns. "Thanks," I said it to cover everyone. "You don't have to try and do it all anymore," Heero said. "We have good friends to lend a hand." Heero turned his head and smiled over at them. He was no longer a shadow man or an invalid. He was his own man and my lover who'd be at my side for as long as I could make possible. We had friends and purpose. The future was ours to fight for. The outer door slammed shut. Rashid appeared, sat next to the pilot, and strapped himself in. Take-off would be any minute. Heero pressed our clasped hands between our legs. He wasn't letting me go anywhere or fall out or something, I guessed. I felt gravity fighting my insides as we bobbed in the air a moment. We lifted off terra firma. "There." The helicopter sent air pouring down, buffeting the ground so that grass ripped free and could be seen blowing away. "Pretty fucking awesome, right?" Duo crowed. I hadn't known how noisy our ride would be. I just nodded. Heero gave a thumbs up sign. Quatre patted his arm, "Shh..." and listened to his cell again. "I'll tell them," he yelled into the mouthpiece. "News? What's going on down there? Circus okay?" Both Heero and I asked, overlapping. "That was from the Maguanacs on the ground. They are reporting that the Sanc militia has deterred the OZ troops from entering the sovereign land of the circus." "But that's just tonight." I knew it couldn't be that easy. "That's right. The fight's just beginning, but the circus is not under attack anymore." "Now that I'm gone," Heero said. Duo sighed. "For the time being." Quatre was back on his phone. "I'll tell them," he said after a moment. "Wufei has safely joined up with them. He wanted us to know." Heero straightened in his seat as the helicopter swayed, picking up speed. "Sanc needs our help to push OZ off its borders." "Well, then we should say some words to observe this great moment," Quatre announced. "Now?" Heero looked down and out the small window. When the copter tipped to the side we had a decent view of the smoke and troops milling around in the dark. The circus was all lit up. "Yes, before we take off into the wild blue yonder and begin our new adventure." "That was part of the Air Forces song," Wufei said. "You know how it goes: Off we go into the wild blue yonder, climbing high into the sun." He stopped and frowned. "I refuse to sing it." Heero and Quatre were smiling and Duo snickering. Quatre said, "It will be nice to go somewhere far away and exciting because it's new." "Oh, oh! Remember that quote," Duo shouted out over the roar of the rotors overhead. "Which one?" Quatre asked. "That space one, you know." "To Infinity and beyond?" I offered up. "Wasn't that Buzz Lightyear who always said that?" Heero asked. He looked a little sheepish , maybe because of the stunned look on Wufei's face. "I must have watched Toy Story five times when I was in the hospital. At least twice with Trowa." "Geez, guys...I'm being serious here and all. Um... the line I'm thinking of goes: 'space isn't far at all. It's only an hour's drive away if your car could go straight up.'" Quatre grinned. "Oh, that's very good. That was from the English astronomer, Fred Hoyle, Duo." "Oh, yeah, that was the dude in denial of the Big Bang theory ." "Yes, that one." "Okay well, let's go thatta way. 'Second star to the right and straight on 'til morning!'" "That was from Peter Pan." Heero smiled. "I watched a lot of movies." "Whoever... whatever, just so we get there fast." The End. |
